The Expat Lifecycle
Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) is my favorite professional topic, and now writing an "Expat column", it comes somewhat natural to me to discuss "Expat" from a lifecycle perspective.
I have observed the following phases in the life of an expat, and I shall briefly describe each of them:
1. The Tourist phase: The expat arrives in the new country and enjoys all new impressions and surroundings. Some war-stories will be collected during this phase about how difficult it was to get the required residence permits and other official documents. The weekends are spent driving around and exploring new places.
2. The Benchmark phase is next. The expat starts actively to compare what is better (or worse) in the new country. The expat has gained a new perspective and starts seeing also his/her home country in a different light.
3. The Value phase comes soon next, when the Expat realizes that his/her own values, which were earlier considered fundamental and unchangeable, are perhaps not so absolute after all. Some expats never reach this phase and will happily return to their home country when their expat-contract expires, or when they stay, maintain a tourist or, do I dare say, colonialistic attitude.
4. The Point of no return is reached when you noticed "I have stayed too long". Your values have changed, you lost perhaps a certain confidence level with it, but gained deeper insights in yourself and life overall; turning back home would cause a renewed culture chock.
5. The Language Blur stage is of course depended on the Expat's language skills and on the local language (in my case: bad school marks for foreign languages, but having managed to speak Finnish quite well). Before this phase, there is a clear dependency between the subject and the language in which you can talk most fluently about it. When you pass this phase you don't know in what language you think (and in my case I neither know anymore how to spell Dutch correctly).
6. The Rootless phase: This is difficult phase, you become somewhat estranged. You realize that you will always stay a foreigner in the country you now call home, and that your old home does not exist anymore. Don't worry, this goes over when you realize this pondering makes no sense, which brings you straight to the next phase.
7. The Acceptance phase: Being an expat has become part of your identity. For me this meant that I have learned to play the foreigner role when meeting new local people who would like to know where I lived in Holland, and if I like Finnish food. And, there are the moments when I feel truly at home and revel in the feeling of independence.
8. New challenges – this phase will bring the Expat back to start and the cycle can begin again!
Menno Huijben
Senior Advisor Sofigate Oy
Ir. Menno Huijben is a Senior Advisor at Sofigate Oy in Finland Sofigate Oy is dedicated to improve the performance of Information Management in organizations, hands-on and down-to-earth. He left Holland in 1989 and has since worked mostly in Finland and some years in Switzerland. Menno lives in down-town Helsinki.
